To Disclose or Not Disclose?

Erik:
"How dry is the basement?" How do you answer that question? Stay tuned.

Randal:
Welcome back to Stay Focused, Focus Real Estate's weekly video series. We had to sing a little because nothing's more fun than a seller's disclosure.

Erik:
Yeah. What should and does a seller need to disclose to the public when they're selling their house?

Randal:
And why?

Erik:
We have a fancy form that's like eight pages long.

Randal:
Eight pages long.

Erik:
And it's called a seller statement of property condition. In Massachusetts, it's optional. It is not required by law that a seller fill out that form and make that available.

Randal:
And then why do we ask people to do it all the time? Several reasons. There's a number of questions that buyers ask at every open house, every showing, every time we talk about property.

Erik:
And they do want to know.

Randal:
And these are the basic things like, "How old is the roof? How old is the heating system? How old is the water heater? Does the basement get water?" And then when you're talking about condominiums, there's a whole plethora of questions wrapped around condominium associations. And really it's an eight page questionnaire, only about 10 or 15% of it will pertain to most people's homes. So, it looks daunting. If you read through it really quickly, you can get a good idea of what they're asking for and what they're going for, and it's super helpful for us. So we use it for two things. One, it's just really nice to have that information.

Erik:
It's informative to buyers.

Randal:
Have you ever gone to an open house or do a showing and the agent is like, "I don't know?"

Erik:
It's great when a seller does know this information and fills out this form and discloses it, and we can share it with buyers and be transparent and informative and helpful.

Randal:
And then also we use it in this capacity.q When a buyer places an offer, before they place the offer, we make sure that they look at the seller's disclosure, since most home purchases have a home inspection contingency wrapped into them. So, we have them look the seller's disclosure over, and not just look at it, I tell you, they sign it as well, so that we know that they have been-

Erik:
Informed.

Randal:
Informed of anything about the problem [crosstalk 00:02:09]-

Erik:
And they're aware of that, so as a seller, we tell sellers, be honest, don't be afraid to discuss of those things that you might think someone's going to think of it negatively. Go ahead. Make those honest disclosures. Because...

Randal:
When it comes to the home inspection, the buyer's going to find out about it and then they're going to hold it against you and then they're going to want to credit for those things. And that really does save our clients a lot in the end.

Erik:
The sellers.

Randal:
Yes, our clients are sellers. Disclose up front. Buyers do home inspections. They really don't have an opportunity to then renegotiate with you after that time...

Erik:
Because they were disclosed about those issues at the time or prior to them even making an offer. Best for the seller, best for the buyers, and everyone involved in the transaction.

Randal:
Thanks for watching. Any questions about the seller's disclosures, give us a shout, and don't forget to stay tuned and stay focused.

Erik:
Stay tuned and stay focused. How dry is your basement?